Marijuana is prescribed because it has medically beneficial properties. "Scientists have confirmed that the cannabis plant contains active ingredients with therapeutic potential for relieving pain, controlling nausea, stimulating appetite, and decreasing ocular pressure." - http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html
No argument here. Why isn't it regulated by the FDA? If it were, every single species, strand, phylum would have to go thru it's own set of trials. The means of planting, cultivating, nurturing, watering, fertilizing, harvesting, thatching, drying, sterilizing, testing, measuring, packaging, shipping and marketing would all be under tight FDA scrutiny. There would be truck loads of documentation establishing quality controls and consistencies and then validating that all those procedures were met for every .10 of an ounce that was produced and sent to market. In this way, as with all other prescribed medications, if something was bad or didn't work as it was advertised, the source of the problem could be effectively tracked, traced, corrected and liability assigned. Now, explain to me again why, if you live in California, you can grow pot (or import it) and sell it to anyone with a prescription without any medical, pharmacuetical or even sales training or experience. (I do know there is some paperwork involved). You know the reason. It's smoke and mirrors to make cannibus more accessible for the recreational user. There is no doubt it has some certain medicinal uses. But so does asprin. Indians supposedly figured some of it's potential out and chewed on bark to get the affect in the 1700s. The FDA is more concerned about asprin than cannibus? Don't be naive even if you do use. Be intellectually honest here.
“Marijuana is prescribed because it has medically beneficial properties.”
Yes, sure, it has about 2 properties that are beneficial and not easily replicated by other drugs. However, the vast majority of “medical marijuana” users don’t have medical issues that require those unique properties, they just want to get high. If you believe otherwise, you’re kidding yourself.